Footprints
by Shimy
Summary: Happens after the movie. Hiccup has to deal with a lot of changes, including new footprints. Rated T just for safety, but K should be suitable too. HiccupxToothless friendship HiccupxAstrid. And I suck at summaries. Now finally complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: ****Hi everyone! So...this is a first. I'm actually writing a fic for a different fandom than Atlantis. I know some people thought it'd never happen! **

**Well, if you have stumbled upon this page, it probably means you saw HTTYD and loved it as much as I did. I've always said that dragons rock! Anyway, I've read some really good stories so far, and I hope mine will not be a complete disappointment. If it is, sorry. If it isn't, cool! Oh, and I originally planned to make it a one-shot, but decided it would work better as a two-shots instead. =D**

**Mel, I hope you will like this story, since you asked for it in the first place!**

**For those who do not know about it: I'm French (well, half-French, half-German), so please excuse the remaining mistakes and/or typos that might remain in the text, for English isn't my native language! I have offered to correct and help people with French whenever they needed it, so feel free to do the same with me!**

**I, of course, do not own HTTYD (and I'm boring: I support canon pairings). All rights reserved to C. Crowell and Dreamworks.**

**And now, without further ado, enjoy your reading! Any review is appreciated and welcome! Thank you all!**

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Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III felt drops of sweat travelling down his face. The combination of the heat of the fire and the concentration he needed when working at the forge made his now damp hair stick on his forehead. The blacksmith apprentice could not remember the last time Gobber and he had had that much work to deal with, no matter how hard he tried. Together, they had to handle the ever-increasing demands of all Vikings in Berk who had befriended a dragon of their own and needed custom-made saddles, complete riding gears – depending on their respective dragons' breed and the riders themselves - and all the material that was considered necessary for dragon-training. Repairs were often needed, and on top of that, well, Vikings remained Vikings and still wanted their weapons, shields and armours to be taken care of.

Hiccup even had had to make himself a particularly strict schedule in order to satisfy as many people as possible and be able to see the tasks he had been given through.

First of all, there was Toothless, and woe betides him who asked Hiccup to forget about his magnificent winged friend! Of course, taking care of the Night Fury and spending time with him was much, much more a pleasure than a chore for Hiccup. The moments the both of them shared together on a daily basis were priceless and had become essential, even vital, for the two friends.

Second, the newest – and somewhat unlikely - hero of Berk had to supervise the training of each and every dragon/dragon rider, which proved to be much more difficult than he had first thought it would be. Fortunately, Toothless and Astrid always stood by his side whenever someone thought it smart to ignore Hiccup's warnings and act on impulse. After several notorious incidents that resulted in burned beards or painful bruises due to the handle of a double blades axe – depending on who had reacted first, whether it was the Night Fury or the female blonde-haired Viking – Hiccup had finally succeeded in getting everyone's complete and undivided attention.

Third, there was the forge, of course. It still took a great deal of Hiccup's time, but he did not mind anymore. At least, not as much as he did before he met Toothless and his fate. In regards to Toothless, the Night Fury loved the forge more than any other place in Berk, except maybe the house where all the fishes were stored. The black dragon had taken a liking to the forge immediately. It was warm, his human was nearby, and he could help both blacksmith and blacksmith apprentice whenever they needed more fire. Since Hiccup had finally won the respect and recognition of Berk's inhabitants, and most importantly of his father, he had found out he actually liked the forge more than he would have thought in the first place. True, Gobber the Belch was one grumbler of a Viking, and he was as bold when talking as he was when fighting, but he had been Hiccup's mentor – and a bit of a father since Stoick the Vast wasn't really available until quite recently - for as long as the young man could remember. Gobber had also been one of the rare Vikings in Berk who had shown what could be called affection for the only son of the chief, and the latter was infinitely grateful for that. Now that he was crippled, Hiccup could even more relate to Gobber and vice-versa, and so the relationship between the old blacksmith, seasoned warrior and his apprentice had taken onto a deeper level.

Furthermore, now that the war between Vikings and dragons was over -at least in Berk- there was no need for entire generations of warriors anymore. Well, there was, since the words 'Viking' and 'warrior' went together, but a good blacksmith would always be needed, and that suited Hiccup just fine. Thanks to his crazy idea of taming a Night Fury, the rarest of all dragons, Hiccup would always have a special status within the Viking community, possibly forever and ever. He had become a warrior of the skies, had proven his skills as a strategist, and he did not wish to have it any other way. He would fight from above if there was no other choice, but otherwise preferred to take care of the others' blades, and imagine suitable plans and inventions. After all, the legendary Sigurd himself had had his sword Gram fixed and reforged by Regin. A skilled blacksmith could be the key that opened a myth.

Sighing out of relief after he wiped his forehead clean, Hiccup allowed his hands to rest on his hips as he took a moment to admire the sword he had just pulled out of the bucket of water. The blade was indeed elegant, remarkably light, about twenty-eight inches long, keen and highly-sharpened. It wasn't straight like most swords Hiccup had to deal with. This time, the blacksmith apprentice had chosen to create a double-edged, pattern welded blade whose harmonious curves made it look more beautiful, more graceful than the usual weapons Vikings used. Hiccup peered at the fuller he had ornamented with careful carvings that represented intertwined dragons and flames. The fuller lightened the blade without reducing its strength whilst it increased its flexibility. Satisfied with what he saw, Hiccup began to examine the sword's hilt. About ten inches long, it was richly decorated with intricate carvings that made one think of the endless waves the ocean unleashed repeatedly on its patient shores. Although these designs were mostly meant to enhance the sword's deadly beauty, they also made sure the hand that would grasp the grip would not let it slip away easily. Finally, the teenage Viking took a closer look at the pommel. It sported a small golden sphere that glowed brightly and which Hiccup had designed to represent the rising sun. All around the pommel were carved runes that indicated the sword's name for everyone to see: Dagmar. 'The one that shines like the light of day'.

Hiccup let an extremely proud smile creep on his tired face. He had worked almost all night long, but it had definitely been worth it: Dagmar was one of his masterpieces, and he sincerely hoped that the one Viking the sword had been created for would agree with him. Slowly, Hiccup put Dagmar down alongside its equally beautiful scabbard, and turned towards Toothless who was sleeping soundly near the raging fire of the forge. The Night Fury made funny sounds that seemed to be an odd mix between purrs and yelps, indicating the magnificent beast was dreaming. Hiccup, however, had been unable to sleep because of the pain that had seemed to wolf down what little was left of his leg, and that was why he had decided to get up and spend the night at the forge despite the snowstorm that had begun to take its toll on Berk for a couple of days already. Snow, night, forge. Three words that made sure Hiccup was alone there and then.

It was the strangest thing, really. Hiccup had spent days, weeks, months, entire _years_ craving for a little bit of attention, hoping for just one look from his father that would express pride and affection rather than disappointment and ignorance... and now that he was surrounded by an aura of unfading glory, he just couldn't bear it. Sure, he was glad that people finally started to accept him for who he was, but the newfound fame that followed him like his very shadow everywhere he went in Berk was a bit too much for him. Years of loneliness did not vanish in thin air just like that. To be completely honest, Hiccup was nothing but embarrassed by the whole ordeal. After all, it was Toothless who had done most of the work during the battle with the Green Death. It was Toothless who had flown fast enough to escape the gigantic jaws of the Dragon Queen. It was Toothless who had delivered the coup de grace. And it was Toothless who had saved him. He had only been the rider who had a plan. That was all. That was, at least, what Hiccup told himself day after day. Then, of course, was the problem of his missing limb.

It had been a few weeks since the battle with the Green Death, and even after the initial shock had faded, Hiccup had not succeeded in getting completely used to his prosthetic leg. Quite frankly, he did not know if he ever would. After a certain number – Hiccup just didn't want to remember how many – of fruitless and painful tries, he had eventually managed to find some sort of satisfactory balance between his prosthetic leg and his valid one. The pain that made him wince and cringe every now and then, he could deal with it. However, he sincerely doubted he would ever get used either to the unmistakable sound his metal foot made on the ground or to the fact that he had to wake up every morning to see one full leg on one side and just a stump of a leg on the other. Not to mention the odd footprints he left behind him when it rained, hailed or snowed. Hiccup utterly hated those.

The young Viking's thoughts were brutally shattered as a familiar, powerful voice resounded in the winter dawn.

"Mornin', Hiccup! Stayed here all night long again, didn't you?"

Gobber the Belch emerged from the snowstorm and into the forge, giving his apprentice a warm, yet reproachful look. Falling back into their old routine, Gobber threw his fur coat away, only to have Hiccup catch it for him. The boy only smiled in reply.

"Hey, Gobber."

"Don't tell me you couldn't sleep because of my handiwork again...", the old blacksmith remarked while gesturing to Hiccup's prosthetic leg.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I just needed to...you know, get some fresh air."

"Fresh air? At the forge?"

"Um..."

"Ya know, lad, Stoick was never good at lying either."

Hiccup's jaw dropped open.

"Really??"

"Aye. When he was your age, your father tried several times to lie to his own father and he failed quite miserably. Your grandfather said the lie was written in Stoick's eyes. It only made things worse, for Stoick started to look down whenever he lied. But I never told you that."

Hiccup grinned. "Of course. Say, Gobber..."

"Yep?"

"How did you...you know...deal with it?"

"You mean, my leg?"

"Yeah."

"I won't lie to you lad, it wasn't easy. Took me a lot of time, and I have to say, you're doin' better than I did. You'll get over it too, with time. And one day, you'll tell the story to your children, and when you see their gaping mouths you may even think that it was the best thing that ever happened to you. Now, can you get that dragon of yours out of the way, I've got work to do, for Odin's sake!"

Hiccup smiled at Gobber's sudden outburst, watched as the old Viking began to pick up his tools all around the forge, and decided it was probably for the best to carry out his orders to the letter. Turning round to face to face the sleeping dragon, Hiccup gently stroked the smooth scales in a quiet attempt to awaken his winged friend.

"Hey, buddy, time to wake up!"

Toothless groaned unhappily, refusing to quit his slumber. Hiccup, more amused than annoyed, crossed his arms as his lips curved into a sly smirk.

"Talk about a mighty Night Fury. You should be called a Night Lazy, I hope you know that. Come on", Hiccup emphasized by trying to pull Toothless with all his admittedly un-Viking strength, "you big lizard, the sun is rising! We need to get to the Hoffersons' to deliver Dagmar!"

Toothless opened half a lid, one green eye scanning the forge to take a quick look at the sword that was still resting alongside its scabbard. The dragon made a sound that the young Viking could only define as a snort and closed his eyes once again, ignoring his human's protests.

"Okay, since you put it this way...Gobber, I'm going out.", Hiccup announced as he picked Dagmar up and put it into its scabbard before starting to walk away.

"Aye. And don't bother coming back here; you've been under my feet enough for today!"

"Understood! Oh and, Gobber?"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks."

Hiccup let out a deep breath as he felt the freezing air all round him, and tightened his grip on his fur coat. He had barely made a few steps when an angry shout made him wonder if his eardrum had just been damaged.

"HICCUP! YOUR DRAGON IS STILL HERE!!!"

"Oh, gods! Sorry, Gobber!" The boy cleared his throat a couple of times before calling out. "By Thor's Hammer, Toothless, that's it! Forget salmon, you're getting smoked eels for breakfast!!"

The Night Fury's head immediately jerked upwards, big green eyes horrified at the very idea of it, and the dragon rushed outside, letting a loud roar in both protest and apology. Hiccup laughed openly as Toothless bounced in front of him, only to find himself locked into a tight hug, stuck between two raven black paws that could easily break his bones as if he were a twig. Toothless purred, and Hiccup smiled in defeat, wrapping his arms as best as he could around the scaly neck of his friend.

"Yeah, I love you too, buddy. Forget smoked eels, I'll find you some salmon. But I really need to deliver Dagmar first. You think Astrid will like it?"

Toothless released his rider and put him down with a series of nods, watching carefully as the boy struggled to find his balance. The dragon whined quietly as he looked down at Hiccup's prosthetic leg, a pang of guilt showing into his big, expressive eyes, but Hiccup did not see it. Together, boy and dragon went across the village of Berk to reach their first destination.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: You guys rule! Thank you so much! I swear, I've never had this many mails from FF for one chapter before! So, first, a quick reply for everyone who has been kind enough to write a review. :-)**

**just me: Close enough! Dagmar isn't really a scimitar, but the link can definitely be made. If you (and the others) want to have a pictural idea of what Dagmar actually looks like, just take a look at The Lord of the Rings (the movies) and more particularly at Arwen and Frodo's swords, Hadhafang and Sting. Dagmar is supposed to look like Hadhafang, just, with Sting's pommel. ^^**

**TheLoudOne: Thank you! I'm glad you liked that part. For some reason I have trouble imagining Hiccup becoming an accomplished warrior (though I have no problem with authors who make him a good swordsman!). Blacksmiths don't get enough recognition anyway! =D**

**jared2492: Thank you! I will!**

**Benji: Thank you very much. This is a great thing to know for someone who doesn't write in his/her native language. Really!**

**FuyuSarah: Like I said in my previous author's note: cool! I'm glad it wasn't a disappointment! Phew! Hope you will like the rest of the story as well! (And Toothless rules!)**

**hollyboo2001: Thanks! Well, I never write a story that takes place in a special historical period without doing a little bit of research first. And I actually studied the Eddas at university, so it's a real pleasure to get reacquainted with Viking mythology! ^^**

**Anonymous: Thanks, and yes, I can understand you felt like it ended a bit soon, but that's why there's a second part now!**

**Animelover231: Thank you! Hope you will like this chapter!**

**AwesomeOliver: Third time's the charm, right? Well, you have your wish: I've decided to write a third chapter for this story! (Who says authors don't pay attention to their readers?) And thank you, of course!**

**Took-Baggins: Thank you very much (by the way, if it is related to a certain Hobbit like I think it is, I love the second part of your author name)! And yes, Hiccup and Gobber have a very special - and kinda moving - relationship. I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked that!**

**Stay tuned for chapter 3! And as always, please excuse the mistakes/typos that may remain, but feel free to correct them. I still don't own HTTYD, but I do own Arvarodd, Svanhilde and the name Starkad for Astrid's Deadly Nadder. Off with me and my rambling! Enjoy your reading! :-)**

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In theory, it was the easiest thing in the world. In practice, however, it was a whole other story. Hiccup stood on the threshold of the Hoffersons' dwelling – which, by the way, had become somewhat bigger, due to a certain Deadly Nadder Astrid had succeeded in taming – completely motionless, his fist raised in the air, seemingly ready to crash down on the massive wooden door. But Hiccup could not bring himself to actually knock. The freezing wind kept howling, sending whirlpools of snow that whipped mercilessly the faces of all who were crazy enough to dare exposing themselves to its wrath while Hiccup was getting lost in his thoughts.

Giving a sword to a Viking was anything but trivial. Quite the opposite, really. Swords were sacred for Vikings, and ranked on top of their most personal items. It was no wonder Vikings gave names to their cherished, long blades. Swords were no random weapon; they represented a warrior's very spirit. They were the soul one would bear on his/her flank and unsheathe to protect and defend what and who was loved; the shining, vengeful extension of a powerful arm. And Dagmar, without the slightest doubt, was one marvel of a sword. Hiccup lowered his gaze to observe the scabbard the sword was dressed with, and gulped. Usually, it was the sword's bearer who was supposed to name the blade, not the blacksmith who had forged it. However, Hiccup had willingly broken with that tradition – he briefly wondered if there was a tradition he had actually _not _broken with – and had given Dagmar its name. That magnificent sword, he had imagined it and created it so it would fit Astrid's hand and become the inimitable, perfect reflection of she who had been willing – although reluctantly – to give him a chance. Each and every inch that constituted Dagmar had been designed for her and her only. And if Astrid accepted Dagmar, it would mean she accepted _him_.

"Okay, Hiccup, relax…_You_ can do this. You _can_ do this. You can do _this_. All you have to do is knock on the door, face Astrid's parents and Astrid herself, and give her Dagmar. Piece of cake! Right, Toothless?..."

The black dragon only cocked his head to the side, his eyes confused but full of sympathy at the sight of his rider talking to himself. The young Viking chuckled nervously, and ran a cold hand through his hair as Toothless nudged him encouragingly and sat down, wings folded on his flanks and tail curling around his body. Hiccup took a deep breath, focusing on both the door in front of him and his still-raised-in-the-air fist.

"Right…On the count of three…One, two, and-

"You asked him to do WHAT?!?"

Hiccup froze at the sound of Arvarodd the Bold's voice thundering in the house. He could have sworn the walls had shaken for a second. Whatever Arvarodd was talking about, it was not good, and Hiccup took silent relief in the fact that he was not the target of Astrid's father's wrath. Curiosity taking over him, he lowered his fist and pricked up his ears, wondering what could possibly make Arvarodd so mad. Another voice made itself heard, and Hiccup identified it as Astrid's mother's, Svanhilde the Honest.

"Why do you want me to repeat what you perfectly heard?"

"Why did you ask him to do that, for the love of Thor?? You know what it implies!"

"And you know Astrid needs a new weapon!! Do I need to remind you _who _broke her axe?"

"NO!!"

"Besides, you never had to reproach the boy anything regarding weapons."

"Except the fact that he can't lift them, you mean?"

"Arvarodd!! May Odin blast that dumb head of yours!! Hiccup proved himself! He deserves our respect!"

"One brave action is not enough to erase the cowardice of a whole life. He's not a Viking! He never was, and he never will be!!"

"Who's not a Viking?"

As the third voice resounded –Astrid's voice- Hiccup found he was having trouble swallowing his saliva because of the lump that had formed in his throat. His whole body was stiff, and he had to remind his lungs to breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, and breathe out. He did not notice his knuckles had turned white for clutching the scabbard too hard. All he could focus on was the rather heated conversation he was eavesdropping in spite of himself.

"Astrid! You woke up early today! Earlier than usual, that is."

"Morning, Mom. Well, with the both of you arguing as if Thor's hammer had hit the house, I wonder how that can be surprising. Even Starkad doesn't make that much noise.", Astrid grumbled, remembering how loud her Deadly Nadder could be, and then added, "So? Who's not a Viking?"

"Who do you reckon isn't?!?", Arvarodd thundered once more, "Hiccup, for the Gods' sake!! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III!!! Odin help us, that boy is so clumsy he could provoke Ragnarok all by himself!! And it'll only get worse now that he is crippled!"

"Arvarodd!!"

"Dad!!!"

"WHAT?!? Don't tell me it isn't true, you know it is!! Even you, Astrid, said so!!"

CLUNK!

The three Hoffersons froze as they heard the metallic sound rise in the air and turned their heads towards the door. On its other side, Hiccup could only stare at the sword that had slipped from his trembling hands.

_No…This can't be real…Astrid…_

His breathing hoarse, Hiccup took a few steps back, still staring at the door and shaking his head in silent denial. He missed the two steps that led to the threshold, which caused him to fall backwards. Toothless reacted instantly and caught his rider before he touched the white texture that covered the ground. The dragon rolled worried eyes, whining softly as he felt the shaking body of his human on his black, glimmering scales. Hiccup looked up at Toothless, wanting to thank him but unable to do so as bitter tears rolled freely down his face. The part of his mind that was still thinking properly screamed to get up and get away before Arvarodd, Svanhilde or Astrid opened the door and found him there. Struggling to his feet –or foot- while Toothless lend him his powerful shoulder for support, he clenched his teeth so hard to ignore the searing pain that shot through his leg that one drop of blood leaked from his bottom lip. Hiccup heaved, every fiber of his being trying to register what he had just heard, and he began to run as best as he could but fell flat on his face almost immediately. The snow molted under him to marry his body, and as he raised himself off the ground and onto his knees, he could feel it covering his features. It was so cold it hurt. But, at least, it hid his tears. What were tears in a snowstorm, except liquid snowflakes that had not had the time to take their shape? Nobody would notice them. Hiccup looked behind him, and felt rage curl inside him at the sight of the peculiar footprints he had left behind him. Why did the weather have to remind him of his crippled condition every time he stepped outside? He wanted to cry it out to the heavens, and suddenly felt himself being lifted up and sitting on the back of his dragon. Toothless could sense Hiccup's distress, and as soon as he was sure the pale hands were wrapped tightly around his neck, the dragon unfolded his wings and took off as fast as he could. He didn't need his prosthetic tail to fly a couple of feet above the ground, as he had demonstrated when rescuing Hiccup from the rogue Monstrous Nightmare in the Kill Ring. And so, soon enough, no trace of either the dragon or his rider could be found as the winter wind continued to howl relentlessly.

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Astrid rushed to the door, not bothering about the fact that she was wearing nothing warmer than her usual clothes. She had heard a dragon whine, and there was absolutely no doubt that it had been Toothless. He was the most expressive dragon of all, and was so vocal it was becoming increasingly easy to understand what he wanted or felt like. And that whining, she knew, had been meant for Hiccup. But as she stormed outside, she could see nothing but the un-tiring snowstorm that engulfed everything in Berk. Looking around in alarm, she let her gaze fall to the ground and spotted two things. The first one was two sets of footprints that she recognized easily as being respectively Toothless's and Hiccup's, and which were slowly being erased by the continuously falling snow. The second one was a beautiful scabbard and the sword it protected that lay abandoned on the threshold of her house.

Frowning, she bent over and picked it up, brushing the thin layer of snow that had started to cover it away. Dagmar. That was the name she could read around the pommel of the sword. Slowly, her fingers curled around the grip, and she couldn't prevent a gasp from escaping her mouth as the sword left its scabbard and revealed itself to her, shining as if Heimdallr himself was casting his light upon it. She certainly wasn't ignorant when it came to weapons, but never, absolutely _never_ had she seen this sword's equal. It was so light in comparison to her usual axes that she knew it would take some time before she could get used to it. Giving a whistle in both appreciation and admiration, she tried a few sparring moves and was amazed at seeing how easy to handle Dagmar was. Every movement felt natural, smooth and limpid like a stream of water. Perfectly balanced, the blade fitted her hand as if it had been made for her. And that, Astrid realized suddenly, could well be the case. How fast her brain worked as she put the pieces of the jigsaw together again, she would never dare to imagine.

_Oh, no…Hiccup…_

In one swift movement, Astrid did the scabbard up to her belt and returned inside to find her parents still quarrelling loudly. Cursing inwardly, the toughest girl in Berk tried several times to make herself heard, unfortunately to no avail. Several moments passed until the last shreds of her patience evaporated, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"HEY!!! WOULD YOU STOP FOR A MOMENT AND LISTEN TO ME??"

Arvarodd the Bold and Svanhilde the Honest looked at their daughter as if she had grown a second head, but at least they had quieted down.

"Now, by all the gods of Asgard, can you please explain what on earth is going on? Why did Hiccup come here with _this_?!?", she asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she held Dagmar at arm's length so both her parents could see it in all its glory. Both gaped, but Arvarodd was faster to snap out of it than his wife.

"Your mother here thought it smart to ask Hiccup to forge a sword for you to replace your favorite axe. The one I've broken, you remember?"

"Yep, I remember, thank you very much. Why?"

"What, why?"

"Why did you ask Hiccup to forge a sword for me?"

"Because," Svanhilde cut in, "you do need a new weapon. And besides, it can help to officialize your relationship a bit."

Astrid could only glare at her mother.

"I don't recall asking anyone to help me officialize my relationship with Hiccup."

"Ha! You see? I told you so, woman! Astrid's smart enough to know who is worthy of her and who isn't! Who would want to date the worst Viking in history?"

"AND," Astrid retorted immediately, her voice growing in volume, "he is definitely NOT the worst Viking is history!! Who I think deserves me is up to me, father!! Right now, Hiccup thinks I've been making fun of him ever since he came back around!! He heard everything you said!"

"So? What do I care?"

"_So, _I'm going to find him and try to repair what you've done! But mark my words; I won't let _anyone_ insult Hiccup again, not even _you_!"

"Know your place, young lady!! Don't forget you're talking to your father!!"

"My father used to respect the choices I made."

Arvarodd the Bold stared at his daughter as she put a fur coat on, gave a high-pitched whistle to call for Starkad who came as soon as she heard it, and disappeared into the snowstorm, mounted on her Deadly Nadder while Dagmar hang at her side, dangling gently. Soon, she wasn't anything but an undistinguishable retreating form that merged with the blizzard. Suddenly, Arvarodd realized his daughter wasn't much of a girl anymore. Without him truly noticing, she had turned into a young Viking woman.

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**For those who skipped my author's note (I know some people do!), don't worry, there will be a third part! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note : just like last time, thank you so very much for all the reviews/favorites/subscriptions to story and/or author alerts, and so on (although I especially thank those of you who left reviews)!!! It's just amazing to me! =D**

**Unlike last time, though, I won't write a reply for each and every one of you. Don't worry, it's not because I don't want to – it's quite the contrary – but just because it's nearly two in the morning here and I'm dead tired! I worked really hard to finish this chapter tonight, and now I'm falling asleep in front of my computer. I'll make up for that when I'll post the epilogue (yes, there will be one!).**

**Anyway, this chapter is about twice the size of the previous ones, so please have a seat, make yourself comfortable and enjoy your reading!**

**Thank you all again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, … ;-)**

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However powerful a Viking Stoick the Vast was, he did not have the slightest idea in regards to how he was supposed to react in front of a tamed Night Fury that was apparently seething with literally burning anger. Every time Stoick took one tiny step towards the staircase that led to his son's bedroom, the black dragon displayed two rows of teeth which were as sharp as could be, and snarled viciously. Toothless's eyes had narrowed dangerously, and his tail whipped the wooden floor in agitation. Every now and then, the gigantic reptile would even threaten to shoot one of his deadly bluish fireballs but changed his mind at the last second, that is to say when Stoick went away from him and the stairs he was stubbornly guarding. For the umpteenth time that day, the mighty Viking chieftain couldn't prevent himself from letting an exasperated growl escape his cursing mouth. Ever since Hiccup came home that morning, the Night Fury had decided to sit at the bottom of the staircase, not letting anyone approach him. Stoick had a pretty nasty feeling that told him whoever tried to ignore the beast's warnings would end up seriously injured, to say the very least. Not being able to climb up the stairs meant not being able to see Hiccup who, judging by the ambient noise, was busy turning his room upside down in a desperate attempt to release the anger and distress that wolfed him down from the inside.

This was not the first time Hiccup acted this way, but it definitely was the first time Stoick actually paid attention to it. Ever since it had become clear his son would become the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be, that is to say a true Viking – the way everyone in Berk meant it until quite recently – Stoick had decided to simply and purely ignore whatever Hiccup could do when he was not working at the forge with Gobber the Belch. Consequently, the chieftain of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe had not set a single toe in his son's bedroom for quite a number of years. He did not even know how it actually looked like by now. Needless to mention, Hiccup didn't let anyone enter his room anyway, one thing Stoick had actually respected for all those years. But right now, when he finally wanted to go and see his son to ask him what was wrong, he could not do it because of one angry, stubborn Night Fury whose only current idea was to protect the one human who had tamed him, and thus, to guard that damned staircase! It seemed nothing could make Toothless budge an inch. Stoick had tried everything he could think of: soothing the dragon with careful words and pats, luring him away with a bunch of fishes, scaring him away with eels, whatsoever, but none of those worked. The only reactions Stoick had earned from the Night Fury were snarls and growls, and those only resulted in making the Viking chieftain angrier and more and more frustrated by the second. And, as everyone knows, there are a lot of dangerous things in the world, but very few of them are considered more dangerous than a frustrated Viking. Except a frustrated dragon, maybe. The point is, when Stoick the Vast did hear the two series of repeated knocks on his door, he decided to call all the gods of Asgard to witness the way he was going to take it out on the unexpected visitor. Whoever it was, he was going to have a hard time of it.

"WHAT???", Stoick roared as he opened the door as brutally as he could, only to find a slightly surprised female Viking staring at him with blue eyes that had widened a bit at his obvious outburst. One hand coiling around the collar of her fur coat, her cheeks redder than usual because of the raging snowstorm, several golden bangs of hair escaping her headband and falling haphazardly about her face, Astrid Hofferson took a step back, maybe without even realizing it, and straightened her shoulders in true Viking fashion, obviously not caring one bit about the weather. Stoick, in spite of his anger, could only admit how fierce and proud she looked and see the definite, dangerous beauty she would have as a fully grown woman. She was a Valkyrie, and she knew it. A couple of seconds passed in a silence that was only broken by the howling wind and the curious squawking sound Astrid's Deadly Nadder gave while watching the two Vikings interact –or lack of interaction- with one another. Astrid eventually decided to break the ice and put her right hand, curled in a tight fist, in front of her heart.

"Greetings, chieftain Stoick the Vast. Respect and Strength."

Stoick smiled, finding his anger was vanishing rather quickly, and returned the greeting.

"Respect and Strength, Astrid Hofferson. What brings you here?"

"I'd like to see Hiccup, if that's alright. I need to talk to him."

"Yes, we all do, don't we?"

Astrid felt her eyes narrow at the odd comment, and watched as the chieftain of the tribe let out a heavy sigh. In an unexpected gesture, he put his large hand on her shoulder, making her body tense for a second.

"Well, come inside, Astrid, we don't want you to freeze out there."

"Thank you."

"And maybe you'll be able to talk some sense into that crazy dragon's head!"

"What? Toothless?"

"Yes, and Hiccup will have to explain why he named him that. Nearly bit my head off! That beast's so stubborn I doubt Loki himself could trick him!"

* * *

After Stoick finished explaining her how Toothless had acted since Hiccup had locked himself up in his room, Astrid rose to her feet and made her way towards the Night Fury. If it was even possible, Toothless actually looked nothing like, well, Toothless. Growling menacingly, the dragon stood on his paws, ready to bounce on Astrid. But the Viking female did not slow her pace down. She only stopped when she could look the dragon straight in the eyes, her face mere inches apart from the snarling reptile. Then, lowering her gaze to the ground, Astrid turned her back on the black dragon and sat down on the wooden floor, willingly putting herself into a vulnerable position. She did not see it, but Toothless's eyes grew bigger. The move, although incredibly stupid in his opinion –who would dare to expose his/her back to him, the most dangerous of all dragons, and hope to get away with it?- had taken him by surprise and he couldn't help but feel respect for the female he knew his human was attracted to. That didn't mean he would let her pass. She was the reason Hiccup was feeling the way he was, and that was enough for Toothless to resolve she didn't deserve to see his human friend. But then, just as he had made up his mind, she began to talk, her back still offered to his sharp teeth, and he listened.

"Toothless, I don't want to hurt Hiccup. I know you want to protect him, and you're doing it really well, but I _need_ to talk to him. You have to let me pass, Toothless. I didn't come here to harm Hiccup. I came to make things right. There's been a huge misunderstanding, you see. I know he heard what my father said, but if he'd stayed a bit longer, he'd have heard what _I_ told my father afterwards. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want to help. Think you can give me a chance?"

The Night Fury retracted his teeth and lowered his head to sniff Astrid's body. Sensing no hostile intention from her, and noticing she was carrying the strange metallic staff his human had made for her by her side, Toothless finally nuzzled her back, purring loudly in agreement. Astrid felt her lips curve into a triumphant smile. Standing up, she finally allowed herself to look at the black dragon and patted him gently.

"Thank you, Toothless. I'll get you an extra fish for that."

The two things she got in return were:

1) The fact that Toothless moved aside to let her climb up the stairs.

2) The same strange yet incredibly cute toothless grin the dragon had first given her when he had caught her in mid-air and prevented her from falling to her death.

* * *

For the second time that day, Astrid knocked on a door. And for the umpteenth time since she had left her house, she hoped everything would be alright. But with Hiccup, nobody could know for sure what would actually happen. It was like throwing a coin in the air; you never knew on which side it would fall. When she was only greeted by silence, she knocked louder.

"Hiccup! May I come in?"

No reply.

"Hiccup, I know you're in there. Please let me in, we need to talk!"

"I don't wanna talk to you. Leave me alone!"

Astrid sighed. She was not known in Berk for her patience –except when hunting- but she did know forcing Hiccup to do something was useless. And even if Toothless had let her pass, it didn't mean he couldn't change his mind if he considered she was being too brutal with the young man. So, she chose to use another tactic.

"Remember our first ride together, Hiccup? When I refused to listen to you, you didn't get me down from that tree like I ordered you to. You wanted me to understand, right? I was reluctant, I admit, but I gave you the chance you were asking for. Now I'm asking you to give me the same chance. Please."

No reply came, but Astrid waited, holding her breath, until she heard the peculiar sound of his prosthetic leg coming closer. Suddenly there was the sound of a key being turned in its lock, and Hiccup appeared in front of her, looking pale and terribly tired. He gazed at her for a second, then past her shoulder to glance at Toothless who still sat at the bottom of the staircase, and finally stepped aside to let her enter his room, extending one arm in some sort of welcoming gesture that didn't look very convincing. Astrid nodded and walked past him. When he closed the door behind them both, she took in her surroundings and felt her lips part slightly.

It was a mess. Of course she had expected his room to be like that, just not this much. There were pieces of parchment everywhere, scattered on the floor – amongst countless bits of broken items made of metal, wood or leather that proved how Stoick's son had poured his wrath on them - and hanging on the walls. Most of them represented sketches of different kinds of tools, weapons – she could make out a very detailed drawing of the ballista some longships used for war -, and all kinds of inventions. Astrid suddenly realized Hiccup had been providing for the Vikings of Berk for _years_, working in the darkness of the forge without anyone noticing it. Several drawings represented Toothless in random positions. Those sketches, she noticed, seemed cleaner than the others, indicating Hiccup had been extra careful with them. A few candles were lit in the different corners of the room, casting a light that she thought was definitely not bright enough to do anything. Which was exactly what made her clench her teeth. The knowledge that Hiccup deliberately created an artificial form of darkness in his very bedroom unnerved her.

"You know, if you don't like it, you can still get out. The door's right behind you."

She was almost startled by how cold his voice sounded. Subconsciously, she let her left hand rest on Dagmar's pommel whilst shaking her head in denial.

"No, it's just…I didn't think your room would look like this."

"And how did you think it'd look like, exactly?"

"I don't know. Not like this."

"This is my place, Astrid. My sanctuary. As far as I can remember, you're the first person I've ever allowed to come in here. I doubt anyone can imagine what it looks like."

"I guess so…"

"So, _Astrid Hofferson_," Hiccup began as he walked away from her, clearly limping, "fancy telling me why you've been hanging around a cripple who can provoke Ragnarok all by himself?"

"I never said such a thing!"

"Yeah, right. I'm stupid, crazy, crippled and now I'm also deaf. Sorry for forgetting about that part."

"That's not funny!! Would you please listen to me?!? I know my mother asked you to forge a sword for me…_This_ sword! And I suppose you came this morning to give it to me. If you had made your presence known instead of eavesdropping- In the name of the gods, Hiccup, why are you smiling like that?!?"

"Mmm? Oh, I was just thinking how funny it is that _I'm never where I should be_, if that rings a bell."

Astrid felt as if her blood had turned cold as she recalled the words she had uttered that night in the Great Hall, when Gobber had expected his trainees to study the Dragon Manual. She had spoken without knowing anything about him, back then, and regretted it. But somehow, hearing Hiccup quote her in such a sarcastic manner, yet so calmly, made it ten times worse. She didn't know how to act around this Hiccup she was not familiar with. He was bitter, somber, and in his emerald eyes, she could see he was furious. There was a moment of silence between them, and she used it to observe him as he sat down on his bed and undid the straps that kept his prosthetic leg in place.

"Hiccup…What I'm trying to say is, I don't care about what my father thinks or says about you."

"My point exactly."

"What?"

"You don't care. People can say whatever they want about me, you don't care. That's what you said, right?"

"Wha- No!! I didn't mean it like that and you know it!!!"

"I think you meant exactly that, Astrid. And I'm gonna prove it to you."

She couldn't help but snicker. Cocking her head to one side, she defiantly crossed her arms.

"Fine. Go on, shoot."

"It's real simple; during all those years when you were busy becoming the best female Viking ever and I was the laughing-stock of, let's say, everyone on this isle, what did you do when Snotlout and the others spent their time bullying me or making fun of me?"

"Hey, I NEVER insulted you like they did!!"

"Why?"

"Because I thought it was unfair, of course, that's why!!!"

"Okay. So you never insulted me like they did. That's what you didn't do alright. But what did you _do_?"

"I- I did…", Astrid's jaw dropped slightly as she finally understood what Hiccup meant, "nothing. I did nothing."

"Yep. Exactly. You did nothing. You thought it was unfair and you did nothing. You could have done something, and you didn't. Why? I'm going to tell you why, Astrid. Because it was so much easier to keep quiet and ignore it. Because helping me just once would have meant you accepted to break free from the group, and you knew you would have been considered an outcast too for having helped the weak, useless Hiccup. You did not do anything because you were _afraid_, Astrid. Afraid of what the other Vikings would think of Arvarodd Hofferson's fierce daughter if she tried to get to know me. And so you kept ignoring me, because you _did not care_, just like you do not care about what people call me today!"

"Are you calling me a coward?!?"

"You know, maybe I am."

Hiccup did not even brace himself when she closed the space between them and slapped him twice.

"Never, Hiccup, _never_ call me a coward again!!!"

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage!! There are different forms of courage, Astrid, and being able to rise and speak the truth when all the others choose to remain silent is one of them!"

"You think you're the only one who knows what loneliness feels like?!? Odin help me, Hiccup, have you any idea how many things I had to sacrifice to become what my father wanted me to become?? I gave up everything I liked, Hiccup, everything!! Every moment of my life was spent training from dawn until dusk! You think that was a funny thing to do?!?"

Hiccup did not reply straight away, obviously considering what she had just confessed, and the look in his eyes softened as she breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself down.

"Have you got your dagger with you, Astrid? I happened to leave mine downstairs."

She blinked, taken aback by the sudden change of subject. What could Hiccup possibly have at the back of his mind?

"Yeah, I do."

"Can you please lend it to me? I'm going to show you something."

She took her dagger out of its scabbard without a single word and handed it over to him. He took it carefully and motioned for her to help him stand since he had removed his prosthetic leg. She complied, wondering what he wanted to do. Carrying his instructions to the letter, she led him to one of the walls of his bedroom, and watched, completely astounded, as he used her dagger to carve a tiny cross on the wood. Now that she paid attention to it, she actually noticed his whole bedroom was covered with hundreds –maybe even thousands- of crosses that looked identical to the one he had just marked the wall with. Hiccup gave Astrid her dagger back, and she looked at him, a puzzled expression written all over her face.

"Each cross represents a time when someone called me weak, useless, unworthy, weird, 'failure', 'worst Viking Berk has ever seen', and so on. 'Cripple' being the latest one. Oh, and you see that bigger cross over there? That was the time Dad told Gobber I was the one to blame for my mother's death. He even wished I had died instead of her. Made me feel pretty good, as you can imagine."

What could she reply to that? What could she even try to reply when all she could see were countless crosses, visible carvings for invisible wounds that had never healed? Suddenly, as she helped Hiccup to get to his bed again, Astrid was able to see what was behind the mask of happiness and dry humor Hiccup put on everyday. Suddenly, she understood his constant, witty jokes were the result of what the inhabitants of Berk had done to him, of what she had done to him. Mountains of sadness, rejection and solitude had reached peaks she couldn't even fathom within him, and it was Toothless, the equally lonely dragon, that had been the first, slow remedy to make them shrink a little. But it was far from being over, and it was no wonder Hiccup had been so hurt by her father's words. Even now that he had proved everyone on Berk that he had been right all along- and lost his left foot in the process- people still rejected him. It would take a very long time, Astrid realized, for Hiccup's wounds to heal, and that did not include his leg, or what was left of it. Sitting beside him on his bed, Astrid looked down, consumed by the feeling of shame that was making her stomach churn in disgust.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. I'm terribly sorry. I- I never knew…"

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have talked to you that way."

"No! No…You had every right to say what you said. And I promise, I will do everything I can to make up for all of those crosses. Everything, Hiccup."

"So, you really didn't agree with what your father said?"

Astrid couldn't help but smile as Hiccup returned to his shy self, hope glittering in his eyes. She saw the unspoken question in them, and did not need to see it twice.

"Of course not. I even told him I would never let anyone insult you again, but you had already left up at that point."

"Oh. Um…oops?"

"Oops is right", she laughed, and he smiled sheepishly. Raising one of her hands, she cupped his cheek, stroking the soft skin with her thumb. "How about I begin repairing my mistakes right now?"

"You can try."

Astrid leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his. Sometimes, just sometimes, she didn't want to punch him beforehand. As he tentatively kissed her back, she wrapped one arm around his neck while his found their way around her waist. She felt him smile into the kiss, and couldn't stop herself from doing the same. How long they stayed like this, wrapped into a tight embrace that spoke of comprehension, forgiveness and love, neither wanted to know. When she finally forced herself to pull away from Hiccup, all she cared about was the endearing smile on his face.

"Well, now that our little problem is settled, I'd better go. Think you can forgive me for the two slaps?"

"I've already forgiven you."

"You're too kind for a Viking, you know that?"

"Maybe I'm not a Viking at all."

"Maybe that's a good thing. Fancy going outside with me?"

"Uh…No, thanks. I…currently don't like being out in the open."

"Why?"

"Footprints."

"Footprints?"

"Footprints.", he confirmed, gesturing to the prosthetic leg that lay, momentarily abandoned, on the floor.

"Oh. I see. Well, I guess I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah. Whenever you want."

"Okay", she agreed, and bent over to kiss him once more.

As she was about to leave Hiccup's room, Astrid turned round, a suspicious look on her face.

"Dagmar is a marvelous sword, you know."

He gave her a proud grin, nodding vigorously.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Something does bother me though. How in the world were you able to make it this perfect? For me, I mean."

"That's my little secret."

"Hiccup!!"

"How did you convince Toothless to let you pass, by the way?"

"That's my little secret."

He laughed delightedly, and Astrid felt her heart soar as he did.

* * *

Astrid climbed down the stairs as fast as her legs would enable her, a grin plastered on her pleased features, only to find herself facing Stoick and Toothless, the both of them looking anxiously at her. She found the sight rather amusing.

"So? How did it go?", Stoick wanted to know.

"It was…tumultuous. But everything turned out just fine. There's one thing we should do to make sure it stays that way, though, and we will need the help of both Vikings and dragons."

"Whatever it is, you just have to name it, and it'll be done."

Astrid grinned in a conspiratorial fashion, and motioned for them to come closer.

"Here's what we are going to do…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am that I haven't been able to complete this story until today. I hope you guys can forgive me. I'm really, really, really sorry. Between writer's block, a period when I was feeling completely down, the huge amount of work I have to do, some serious personal problems and other things that have had an influence on my writing, or the my lack of writing, I didn't have either the time or the motivation to write. But Here is the final part of _Footprints_, and I hope you will enjoy it. I want to tell each and everyone of you who faved and/or review this story that you totally rock and that I'm beyond grateful for your patience and comments. **

**Now I really have to finish my Atlantis story - that hasn't been updated for even longer than this one- and finish the layout of my next HTTYD story, that is already entitled _Beyond the Realms, _and then, well, write it of course! I'll also try to write a private message to all people who left a review to which I haven't replied yet.**

**Oh and the allusion to the rabbit at the end is inspired by a fanart (entitled "How To Catch a Rabbit") that you can find on Deviantart on Simi94's gallery.**** Thanks to the artist for allowing to use it in this story! ^^**

**My deepest apologies again, and my deepest thanks. :-)**

**

* * *

**

The moment Toothless understood what Astrid had at the back of her mind, he decided he liked her almost as much as Hiccup himself and began to nuzzle her to prove it, although the sudden move nearly made her loose her balance. But she laughed, and scratched the sensitive spot on the dragon's neck, earning an appreciative purr in return. Her fingers, although not as nimble as Hiccup's, moved in a confident way, showing no sign of either hesitation or fear, and when they eventually stopped dancing across his black scales and she asked him if he was ready to play his part, he stamped his front paws on the wooden floor in anticipation, his tail happily whipping the air.

She nodded, smiled, and made her way to the door when Stoick suddenly called her name.

"Astrid?"

"Yes, Chief?"

"Is there anything I can do for you in return?"

Astrid hesitated for a moment, unsure of what she should say. It was pretty obvious that Stoick actually _wanted_ to do something, but she couldn't think of anything special…at least until she remembered the walls of Hiccup's bedroom. But what she was about to say was not something one could tell the chieftain without suffering its consequences. And yet, Stoick needed to know.

"Well, I can't think of anything you could do for _me_, chief Stoick, but there definitely is something you can do for your son. I really have no right to say this, but if I were you, I'd never say that Hiccup's responsible for his mother's death ever again."

Stoick immediately squared his shoulders, and she could see his whole body becoming incredibly tense. For a second, she feared she'd just said the one thing she never should have. The man's hands had curled into tight fists, and she briefly wondered if he was going to beat her until no one would recognize her. And then, finally:

"I was furious and nearly drunk when I told Gobber about that. Hiccup wasn't supposed to hear it."

Astrid didn't really know why he had just confessed this to her, out of all people. But she was still standing in front of him, and she was still unharmed, so she supposed it was now or never.

"Well, he did, and I can guarantee you he hasn't forgotten about it. You should try to talk to him and tell him you didn't mean it."

"Aye, I'll do that."

Astrid smiled a sad smile and the look in her eyes softened. Oh, how wrong they had all been.

"If it's any consolation, Chief," the fair-haired Viking added as an afterthought, "you're certainly not the only one who has a certain amount of making up to do. And it begins now."

As soon as she pulled the door open, Toothless hot on her heels, Astrid couldn't help but stare at the sight before her. Not only had the snowstorm come to an end, but four dragons and their respective riders stood there, seemingly waiting for her. Starkad, who looked particularly proud of herself, squawked loudly to greet her and came hastily at her side, motioning for her to look at the group that was gathered in front of the chieftain's house. The spiked beast could not speak, but the message was clear nonetheless, and Astrid grinned as she lifted her hand to pat the blue dragon's head.

"Good job, Starkad. That will save some precious time…"

"Hey, Astrid! You look like you feel cold with those clothes. Wanna share some of my furs?"

"I hate to burst your bubble, 'Lout, but she's with Hiccup, remember?"

"Shut up, Tuff!"

"She's with Hiccup, she's with Hiccup, she's with Hiccup, she's with- OW!"

"He's right, though. Hiccup's got, like, charisma level 15."

"What the heck is 'charisma'?"

"Charisma is-

"Shut up 'Legs! Astrid's waiting, in case you haven't noticed."

"Thanks Ruff. Okay guys, if you're done acting like the idiots you are, maybe you can listen to what I have to say. Toothless, Starkad, you know what you have to do if they don't."

Immediately, the two reptiles readied themselves to pounce on whoever deserved it, their pupils narrowed to slits. Miraculously, Astrid got everyone's undivided attention.

"Alright, you all know we've not exactly been nice to Hiccup for…well, for as long as I can remember. So I think it's time for us to do something for him."

"Well, what do you suggest? It's not like we can invite him to brawl or something, he's still not used to that stump of his!"

"'Lout, if you keep interrupting me," Astrid spat venomously, "I swear I'll flatten your balls with a war hammer! And stop calling Hiccup's leg a stump!"

"But that's what it is! You can't- okay, okay, I'll shut up."

"You'd better. _So_, as I was saying, I think it's time for us to do something for Hiccup. Apparently, he doesn't like being outside because of his footprints. No comments, thank you very much. What I want you to do is pretty simple: gather all the riders and their dragons and lead them to the cove, except the Terrible Terrors. Toothless and Starkad will show you what needs to be done once you're all there."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to give instructions to the owners of Terrors, and convince my father to stay inside…for now. I'll meet you at the cove as soon as I can. Any questions? No? Good, 'cause I wouldn't have answered them. Now go!"

They all sprinted away, heading for their respective destinations.

* * *

Hiccup spent the day drawing sketches of all sorts, trying to sort out his latest ideas and see which ones he could keep and which ones he could immediately drop, either because they were not good enough or because he himself foresaw how dangerous for his own sake they could turn out to be. It was only when he felt his stomach grumble in protest that he resolved to leave his bedroom. And it was only then that he noticed how abnormally quiet the house was. Frowning, he climbed down the stairs –something he had had to learn all over again because of his prosthetic leg- and made his way through the main room, only to find that the fire in the hearth was almost dead.

"Okay, Dad, Toothless, that's very funny, but I'm not in the mood to play hide and seek."

His sarcasm was only met by silence. That's how Hiccup knew that something was terribly out of place: put Toothless and Stoick in the same place, and silence is the last thing you'd ever get. The teenage Viking felt a single drop of sweat travelling down his forehead as he put on a fur coat and pulled the door open. It was the end of the afternoon, and the sun –or what little one could still see of it- was beginning to set. Hiccup grimaced. The ambient cold made him feel like the metal of his prosthesis was biting into his leg, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he started to limp. More than usual, that is.

But what made Hiccup feel really, really nervous was the very sight that met his eyes. The village was completely deserted. No Vikings, no dragons, nothing but the houses and whatever stuff Vikings needed. Hiccup whistled in order to call Toothless, to no avail. Panic rising up in his throat, he tried to run, calling for anyone, his one boot and his metal foot being buried under a thick layer of snow, and almost fell over. Not able to resist the urge to look behind himself, he scowled at his footprints, his green eyes immediately darkening. And then saw the last person he expected to see: Arvarodd Hofferson, his axe strapped onto his broad back, and the way the blade glistened was a warning in itself.

"Oh, great. Just what I needed."

It seemed like Astrid's father thought exactly the same. And somehow, the idea of being left alone with Arvarodd the Bold was almost as fearsome for Hiccup than battling the Green Death. Oh, yes, Astrid definitely took after her father. But the teenage boy did not have the time to dwell on the thought as the blonde man came to a stop in front of him, looking him up and down before he spoke in a _very _cold voice.

"What exactly did you do?"

"Nothing!", Hiccup retorted instantly, feeling angered by such an unfair implication.

"Don't lie to me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock!"

"I'm not lying! Why would you say that?"

"Because that kind of thing _always_ happen when _you _are around!"

"Well, I'm _so _sorry for disappointing you, but I've got nothing to do with this. Regardless of the latest turn of events that resulted in the end of the war between Vikings and dragons and in _this_," Hiccup added as he gestured to his prosthesis, "I haven't yet earned the power to make every living beings vanish in thin air just like that!"

Arvarodd blinked as the boy snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. Now when exactly had Stoick's son got the guts to stand up to him? Somewhere at the back of his mind, a little voice told Arvarodd that maybe, maybe the boy had really changed. But that didn't solve their current problem.

"So you don't know what happened?"

Hiccup let out a sigh, relieved to perceive that Astrid's father's voice had returned to normal.

"No, sir. I just found out about that myself."

"Astrid came back home this morning with Stoick, and they both told me that I had to stay inside today. I thought it was odd, but your father's our chieftain, so I didn't bother asking him why he said so. I figured he had his reasons. I probably should have asked."

"They told you to stay inside? Now that's strange. What about- Hey! Where on earth," Hiccup asked out loud whilst pointing behind Arvarodd, "Do you guys come from?"

"What are you talking about?"

Arvarodd the Bold span around, his blue eyes narrowing until they became almost invisible, and his hand already reaching for the handle of his axe. But what he saw wasn't what he had expected to see: an entire group of dozens of Terrible Terrors flying swift in his and Hiccup's direction. They flew past him, obviously ignoring him for they knew he still had trouble accepting the fact that dragons were no longer a threat to the Hairy Hooligans, and landed together at Hiccup's feet. They were as excited as ever, and began chewing on the boy's only boot. Hiccup bent down to greet them properly, and after a few soothing words, asked them if they knew where all the others were. The tiny dragons squawked happily, and half of them took to the sky again, flying towards the forest and looking behind them every now and then to see if the two humans had understood what they were supposed to do.

"Well, dragon tamer? What do they want?"

"I'm not sure, sir, but I think they want us to follow them."

"What about those?"

Hiccup looked down to see the Terrors that were still gathered at his feet. He gave a shrug.

"No idea."

"Very well. Since there's no other choice…Let us go."

Both Vikings started to make their way to the forest in utter silence. Several times, Hiccup looked over his shoulder to see the remaining Terrors walking excitedly behind him, refusing to take flight for a reason that for the life of him he just couldn't fathom. Son enough, the ever-increasing tension between Arvarodd the Bold and the young man was so thick that it was almost palpable. Hiccup risked a glance at Astrid's father's axe and felt the need to clear his throat. He figured there was no harm in trying to start a conversation.

"You know, sir, you should drop by the forge sometime."

Arvarodd did not even deign to take a look at the boy beside him, but Hiccup did not want to give up that easily.

"I'm saying this because your axe looks like it could use the extra attention and- huh, can you stop grabbing my tunic- which you're pulling rather roughly, by the way- and put me down, please?"

"How dare you say that I'm not capable of taking care of my own weapon?"

Hiccup gulped, and started laughing nervously.

"Why, no sir! That's not what I meant! I'd never say such a thing, not even imply it!"

"Then what _did_ you mean?"

"Well, you see…your axe is not balanced. The blade is keen and sharp, but its weight obviously isn't equally distributed anymore. It happens sometimes. And anyway, it's way too light for a man of your build. All I meant was that if you entrusted your axe in my care, I could probably solve that problem and upgrade your weapon for you."

"Weapon upgrade?"

"Yep. For free."

Arvarodd slowly lowered the teenage Viking onto the ground and then did something rather unexpected: he _smiled_, and Hiccup understood that he'd just scored at least one point. That was good. Dusting himself off and shivering as the winter wind blew, he followed after Astrid's father as they went deeper into the forest, the naked trees silently watching over them and footprints that were being erased as Terrible Terrors resolutely walked over them. And while they were all moving forward, Hiccup suddenly realized where they were heading for.

"The cove!"

"What?"

"The Terrible Terrors are leading us to the cove where I first met Toothless!"

* * *

If Astrid were as good at drawing as Hiccup was, she would immediately have drawn the equally astounded expressions that were plastered on both Hiccup's and her father's faces as they walked past the shield that Hiccup had left there months ago and tried to take in the scene that took place in front of their eyes. She had to admit, it was quite a sight indeed, something no one on the island of Berk had ever witnessed before. Vikings and dragons had worked together to make both ice and snow melt, and for the first time ever, the cove looked more or less like it always looked during Spring, Summer and Autumn. Except that this was Winter. The pond was no longer frozen, and the water was literally steaming because of the heat that radiated from the dragons' breathing. Deadly Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares and Hideous Zipplebacks were busy following their owners' directives to gather huge amounts of snow into massive heaps, while Gronckles were used to make the last blocks of ice. The light of the setting sun made the scene look all the more surreal. Vikings and dragons were everywhere, and Astrid supervised the whole thing with Toothless, who had just shot one of his bluish/purple fireballs to let everyone know that Hiccup was there. His task accomplished, the Night Fury bounced away from Astrid to meet his human, who had still not moved an inch.

Vikings and dragons turned their heads to look at their latest hero and burst out laughing good-heartedly as he hesitantly stepped forward, one hand resting on the nape of Toothless's neck. From the corner of her eye, Astrid saw her mother smile and walking over to where her father stood, his jaw still dropped and his body completely motionless, before she returned her attention to her boyfriend who was now looking at her as if he'd never seen her before. She let a laugh escape her mouth, and strode along towards him. When she stood in front of him, she could practically see the lump that had formed in his throat as he tried to form words, his vivid green eyes glistening a bit, perhaps with tears, though nothing went past his lips but strangled sounds.

She didn't utter a word as she lifted one of his arms to put it around her shoulders, and snaked one of her own around his waist. That seemed to do the trick.

"You did this?"

"Well, it was my idea. But I wouldn't have been able to do it without everyone's help. Do you like it?"

"It's amazing."

"Yeah. You see, I thought about what you said in regard to your footprints, and decided that it wasn't good for you to just stay locked indoors because of them. I knew you wouldn't want to get out if you didn't have a good reason to do it, so we all came here in order to make the village look like it was deserted. That way I knew you'd come looking for us."

"But why the cove?"

"I thought it would please you to see this place in a somewhat lively state again, considering that it has a lot of meaning for you, Toothless, and, well, I. We all came to show you we cared about your well-being now. I don't want you to carve any other crosses on your walls. No one wants."

Hiccup couldn't help but smile. This was so simple, yet so touching.

"What about the Terrible Terrors?"

"Oh, they couldn't really help us here, so we gave them something else to do. Some of them had to lead you here, while the others had to walk on your footprints to erase them. You didn't notice?"

Hiccup blinked, and turned around to see that the Terrors, and other dragons in addition, including Toothless, had indeed taken it upon themselves to make sure none of Hiccup's footprints remained visible.

"And," Astrid continued with a mischievous grin, "It seems like that is going to be a rule. I don't think you'll have to worry about seeing your footprints ever again. They consider it a very serious mission."

"I…I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything.", Astrid replied as she leaned in to give him a feather-light kiss on his lips. He smiled, and entwined his fingers with hers as he captured her lips again at the very moment she'd started to pull away from him, and the both of them remained lost in the moment until they had to breathe again. By the time they lips parted, all they could hear around them were cheers, whistles, laughter, and happy roars.

At the other end of the cove, Arvarodd the Bold stared at his daughter as she embraced and kissed Stoick's son, not really knowing whether he wanted to kill him for daring courting his little girl or not, when a voice he cherished began to whisper lovingly in his ear.

"Look at her, Arvarodd. When was the last time you saw her like this?"

And honestly, he had no answer to that question. But what made him truly realize that Hiccup really wasn't someone to scowl at anymore was the miracle he brought to Astrid. For as he stood there, staring at his daughter and her boyfriend embracing one another in front of a steaming pond, he heard the sound of laughter. Astrid and Hiccup were laughing. Astrid Hofferson, his headstrong daughter was _laughing_. Suddenly, Arvarodd the Bold felt simple, pure joy fill his heart. Ever since he had started to train Astrid into becoming the toughest Viking female of her generation, she had been bitter, closed, and even the smallest smile would have to be forced. But now, she had begun laughing as if without a care in the world and Hiccup's laughter mixed in with hers, filling the forest. Astrid had not had a genuine laugh since the first time she was able to hold a weapon, and yet this boy had brought out this lost emotion inside of his daughter. And for that reason Arvarodd realized that he wouldn't really mind taking this dragon tamer into his family if he ever asked for his daughter's hand. And that settled that.

* * *

That same evening, once everyone had returned to the village and got some food into their rumbling stomachs, and after Stoick and his son had had a rather long talk together, Astrid had insisted on having a walk with Hiccup before another snowstorm arrived. Because of the cold, the night sky was exceptionally clear, and a wonder to look at. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid had really paid attention to where they were going, and they ended up sitting on the docks, their fingers entwined and their legs dangling gently above the waters of the Norse Sea. Eventually, Astrid unsheathed Dagmar and examined the sword more closely than she had before. Hiccup didn't say anything; he simply waited for the questions he knew would come. And he didn't have to wait for a very long time.

"How many hours did you spend making this sword, Hiccup?"

He smiled.

"I dunno."

"Hiccup…"

"No, really! I don't know. I'd say about three hundred hours."

"You're pulling my leg."

"Nope. It takes about two hundred hours to make a good sword. And since I wanted this one to be absolutely perfect, three hundred hours seem appropriate."

"What else can you tell me about it?"

"Well, Dagmar isn't straight because I wanted something that could match the grace I see in the way you move when you're in combat. And, well, the curves made it look like more…feminine."

Astrid smiled as one of her eyebrows shot up, but she kept quiet. Hiccup took his cue to continue.

"The intricate carvings on the fuller –dragons and flames- are representations of your temper. You're fiery, strong, swift, and somewhat intimidating. The other carvings, those on the hilt, look like waves because you're as wild and free as the sea itself."

"You're being corny, you know that?"

He chuckled, and told her he didn't care. She simply shook her head in mock exasperation but he could see the faint blush that had appeared on her cheeks.

"As for the name of the sword itself, Dagmar, well, I thought it suited you just fine."

"If you tell me that it's because of my hair, I'm going to beat you up."

"Then I won't say anything. But do you accept this sword as yours?"

Astrid knew what Hiccup meant. It wasn't exactly the equivalent of a proposal, but it was a symbolic question nonetheless; if their relationship were to last long enough, the next time he'd give her a sword to protect her life with would be at their wedding ceremony. Astrid leaned closer to the boy beside her, and brushed her lips against the shell of his ears.

"I'll never accept any other sword from anyone else."

Her answer was whispered so he was the only one to hear it, but she might as well have cried it out loud. Deep inside him, Hiccup was dancing as Astrid took his face into her hands and placed her lips, round and firm, against his. When she pulled back, she kept her forehead close to his, blonde bangs mixing with brown ones, her breath softly caressing his skin.

"Astrid?"

"Mmmh?"

"This morning, you implied that you'd felt lonely too. Why?"

The fair-haired Viking reluctantly opened her eyes to gaze at her boyfriend.

"I told you; every moment of my life until recently was spent training from dawn to dusk. I forgot about the simple things that one can enjoy on a daily basis, like the feeling of the breeze in your face, or being….myself. I was so caught up in becoming a shield maid that I forgot about everything else that should have mattered just as much. I wanted to reach perfection, and as a result I found out that there are many things that I should have paid attention to, many experiences that I should have lived, but which I did not. And that time will never come back. But you, Hiccup, when you took me on that first flight with Toothless, you gave me something that was even more precious than proving me how wrong we all were about dragons. Something that I thought I'd lost forever."

Hiccup choked a little, finding his throat was completely dry.

"What did I give you?"

She smiled her beautiful smile, the one that was pure, genuine, simple, honest, real.

"You gave me Astrid. You gave me myself. You returned to me the little girl that used to be innocent enough to hang around you without immediately pushing you away…," Astrid ran one of her hands over Hiccup's chin, fingertips pausing on the tiny scar that was there, "…even if I gave you this the day you hid that rabbit under your fur coat to prevent me from slaying it."

Hiccup chuckled and smiled sheepishly.

"I thought you'd forgotten about that. But for the record, I've always liked that scar."

"Really? Why?"

"I used to think of it as your mark upon me."

"That would explain why Snotlout still hopes I'm going to end up with him, considering the amount of scars I've given him this far."

They laughed. And suddenly, her fingers reached forwards to gently touch him, to cup his cheek. Despite himself, he leaned into her palm, and she felt the softness of him meld with her.

"You know what, Hiccup? I think I really, really love you."

He jerked in surprise. His eyes snapped wide open, just in time to see her lean forwards and kiss him.

She tasted like berries, like warmth, like the power of the sea and the sky put together. He took three seconds to adjust to reality, to reassure himself that this wasn't a dream, before he leaned forwards and brought her to the ground, settling himself hungrily on her as they deepened the kiss. She shifted underneath him, bringing her hands up to tousle in his hair and stroke it. He kissed her again before pulling back to rest his forehead against hers.

"You... I..." he was smiling, he knew. A wide, idiotic, happy smile that felt so foreign and yet so right on him.

And she... she smirked up at him, gloriously. "You know, if I'd known that a kiss like that would render you monosyllabic, I would have tried it a long time ago."

He shook his head, marvelling at the wonder of it all. _Defeating the Green Death wasn't a miracle. This... this has to be. _"You little _minx_," he accused, but there was no fire in it, only the same dazed joy that was still making him smile like an idiot.

He didn't wait for her reply. The suddenly shy, vulnerable look in her eyes could be dealt with later, when he was feeling a little less giddy, when she was feeling more like talking. Now... now was the time to revel in what they had, what they finally, finally had.

"You know what?" he grinned. "I think that deserves some payback."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she demanded, clinging to him.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for some time…Astrid, I love you, I always have, I always will, and I want to ask you…"

Astrid sucked in her breath, not daring to interrupt him. He wasn't going to ask her _that question_, was he?

"…Will you train me?"

She could have screamed out of frustration. He kept laughing as she dragged a palm across her eyes to stare accusingly at him. "You... I...!"

He smirked. "You know, if I'd known a simple question under a starry winter night would render you monosyllabic, I would have..."

He didn't have time to finish the sentence before she laughed, and told him that, yes, she would train him and that he would _so_ regret asking her this, and finally silenced him again with another kiss.

When they both left the docks of Berk later on that night and he walked her home, a Deadly Nadder and a Night Fury dutyfully walked into his footsteps, and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III knew he'd never have to worry about his footprints ever again.


End file.
